Credit: Patrick Whittemore

Authorities in Haverhill pulled an unoccupied car out of the Merrimack River yesterday afternoon while the Coast Guard dealt with an oil spill in the river from Friday a couple of towns over.

Haverhill police said they found a car submerged in the river by the rest area at 110 River St. at 9:45 a.m.

An hour later, state police said they sent an air wing and dive team to the area of 1250 River St. to investigate.

About 1 p.m., Haverhill police said they located the owner of the car, who was sent to a local hospital for minor injuries. All parties in the vehicle were accounted for, Haverhill police said.

The night before in Newburyport, the Coast Guard received a call about 6 p.m. for a fuel oil spill in the Merrimack River, Petty Officer Zachary Hupp said.

The spill was caused by a fishing boat that caught on fire, the Coast Guard said. The boat sank, dumping about 500 gallons of fuel oil into the river.

On Friday members of the Coast Guard and local officials removed the “Hit List” fishing vessel from the river and sent a pollution response team to work the scene overnight, the Coast Guard said.

Officials said an oil sheen was observed in the river, prompting the Coast Guard to contain and clean up the spill throughout the day yesterday.

This comes as the Clean River Project looks to purchase a $250,000 trash-skimming vessel through the state to clean up the Merrimack River, which receives 100 million gallons of raw sewage per year, according to Clean River Project founder Rocky Morrison.